New Orleans, LA

January 2016

Geoffrey Meeker had a coffee epiphany while living in the Caribbean. He had moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands from New Orleans with his family in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and when a guest brought a bag of Blue Bottle Coffee beans with her for a visit, Meeker was gobsmacked. He’d never tasted coffee of that caliber before and immediately wanted to figure out how he could do it on his own. It was the sip that sparked French Truck Coffee.

Meeker was born and raised in Danville, Illinois, and attended the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. After graduating he got to work, cooking at top restaurants in food capitals from coast to coast: Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York City. He also worked for Bon Appétit and the James Beard Foundation. Meeker eventually settled in New Orleans after helping to open the W Hotel as a consultant in 1999. He’d fallen in love with the city.

It was 2011 when Meeker was hit by the Blue Bottle bombshell, which propelled him back to NOLA where French Truck Coffee began (roasting in Meeker’s laundry room). FTC moved into its first commercial space in 2013, and today is located on Magazine Street, fronted by a cafe. Meeker roasts one small batch at a time in the back, sharing his epiphany with the Crescent City.